TRP: Roddy, Mishka, and Nixie (Pops)
Muse: at 9:12 PM Morningstar Keep, Roddy's room. Day 167 Hasnel still hadn't to Roddy. It'd been days and still nothing. Sometimes Roddy thought he might be getting antsy. But that wouldn't do any good, so he went back to just... waiting. Picked at his lute, lyre, the mandolin a little but that reminded him too much of Hansel. Found little things to keep his hands busy, and mind quiet. Didn't always work. Sometimes something flare up. Roddy'd picture Hansel storming in and yelling at him, telling him how terrible a son he was. Sometimes he'd picture Hansel coming in and giving him a hug, saying everything was fine, they could go on like nothing had happened. Sometimes he'd picture Hansel sitting down next to him, and calmly explaining that he couldn't have a son that couldn't behave, and that Roddy could stick around, but the parent-thing was over. (Roddy hated that one the most.) So instead he focused on his lute. Picked out a little tune, one he'd learned as a child. Just the same few chords, over and over. Just. Waiting. Coyote: at 9:24 PM There was a delicate knock on the door. "Roddy?" Sugar's voice called. "Mishka wanted to show us some things. He says-- I can't kept this stupid spell he keeps trying to teach me. He says you'll get it. Can you-- can you come help?" Muse: at 9:29 PM It took a minute for Roddy to respond. Sometimes when it was really rainy, the mud would be terrible. Sucked everything down and made it hard to walk. That's what thinking felt like, right now. Wading through the mud. He didn't respond verbally, eventually just pulled to his feet and shuffled to the door, opening it. Gestured for Sugar to lead the way. Coyote: at 9:30 PM Sugar didn't move. "Um... hang on. What's wrong? You look, like. Sick." Muse: at 9:31 PM Roddy gave a little shrug. "M'fine," he muttered. "S'emotional." Coyote: at 9:32 PM Sugar blinked at him. "Roddy," she said, resting her hand on the door. "What's wrong? Can I-- can I come in?" Muse: at 9:34 PM Roddy stared for a second. Glanced over at where Mishka's study was. Glanced back at Sugar. Shrugged and stepped aside. Coyote: at 9:37 PM Sugar hesitated doubtfully. Then she left for a moment, then came back. "Um, Mishka's working on some other spells right now." She stepped into Roddy's room, then gently started guiding him out. "D'you want some tea downstairs? I bet you have, like, a cold. It's winter, you know. People say colds happen a lot in the winter because the snow chills people and makes them sick, but that's not actually true. It's actually because there are, um, these tiny things called germs..." Muse: at 9:38 PM Roddy let her steer him, only half-listening to her rattle. "S'not a cold," he muttered half-heartedly. Or maybe it was. Whatever. Tea sounded... okay. Coyote: at 9:42 PM "Are you sure? Because you look, like. Real sick," Sugar said. "Goro can remove diseases from people. We could go talk to him. But he might not. One time I got a cold and he said he wouldn't remove it because I needed to get over it on my own and strengthen my immune system." Muse: at 9:45 PM Goro. Roddy pulled back a little at that name. "Don't- wanna see Goro right now," he muttered. Just another thing Roddy'd managed to screw up. Serve him right if Goro didn't ever want to talk to Roddy again either. Coyote: at 9:47 PM Sugar didn't say anything for a while as they walked downstairs. Roddy was young. She wasn't sure how young, but... young. Really young for an adventurer who almost died on a daily basis or had to fight his own foster dad. She patted his shell, seeing if he'd accept the touch. Muse: at 9:49 PM Roddy didn't pull away, but he didn't lean into it either. Just let her guide him to a chair and settled in, staring at the table surface. Coyote: at 10:02 PM Sugar hummed. She started boiling some water for tea. Roddy was quiet the whole time. He didn't volunteer information, didn't babble. If Roddy wasn't talking... this was bad. Very bad. "Did Goro do something?" she asked quietly. She honestly loved Goro. Sometimes he could be too sharp, though-- like a knife that had lost its sheathe. Sometimes he cut people. Accidentally or on purpose. Muse: at 10:07 PM Roddy flinched at the question. Did Goro do something? For once- Roddy was pretty sure the answer was no. But then he'd have to say it was him, Roddy who'd screwed up this time. And then she'd have more questions and- Roddy was just too tired to answer. So he didn't. Just folded his arms on the table and stared off to the side. Coyote: at 10:08 PM "Do you want to talk about it later?" Sugar asked. "I'm just asking because... you know, I care. I don't want to press. I just want to... help. I guess." Muse: at 10:12 PM And now he was screwing up with Sugar. Great. Should have just stayed in his room. Couldn't mess anything up in there. Roddy's breath hitched a little in his throat. How was he supposed to answer this. Couldn't say yes. Couldn't say no. "...Sorry," he mumbled instead. Coyote: at 10:23 PM "You don't have to be sorry, Roddy," Sugar said. She hugged him for a long, long moment. The way she used to wished her older sisters would hug her when she was upset. She stroked the back of his shell, wondering if he could feel it. Probably not. But... maybe he could feel the motion or something, and it would be comforting. Maybe. Then the tea kettle began to whistle. She went to the kettle and poured the hot water into a mug, then tea leaves. She popped a couple slices of bread onto the grill above the hearthfire to toast them, then sat down. She stirred honey into her tea, then pushed the jar of honey to Roddy to mix with his own. Muse: at 10:34 PM Sugar was nice. Too nice. Nicer than Roddy deserved. It took a minute, but eventually he did lean into the hug. Just a little. Wanted to return it but... Felt stuck. Tea though. Tea was good. Tea was simple. Slowly Roddy curled his hands around the cup. Ignored the honey- he'd have to decide how much, spoon it in, and that was- Roddy didn't want to, right now. Stuck to sipping his cup. Should say something to Sugar, thank her for it. Words froze up in the back of his throat. Kept quiet instead. Coyote: at 10:39 PM Sugar finished her tea quietly, then set it aside. Maybe she'd just take him back upstairs and he could take a nice nap. She could ask him more about what was wrong later. As if on cue, there were near-silent padding footsteps. Mishka stepped into the room, barefoot and dressed simply-- the way he liked to dress in the castle. He rested his hand on Sugar's shoulder, then dropped it. "Is there tea for me too, sweetheart?" Sugar nodded. Mishka made himself a cup. He stirred in way too much honey, then didn't drink it, playing with the spoon. "Roddy, could you help me teach Sugar a trick? I feel like you'd get it easier, somehow. Sugar's having trouble with it. I'm not sure she can do teleportation magic." "I managed it once," Sugar said. "With Hansel." "Yes, I'm quite impressed by that, honestly. It's remarkable you managed to do that," Mishka said. "Pity we can't seem to replicate your success. Turtle Kid? How about it? Want to try? It's that vanishing trick of mine." Muse: at 10:43 PM Mishka came in. Started talking to Sugar- Roddy tuned them out. Just kept sipping at his tea. Realized a little belatedly that he'd been addressed. Looked up and stared for a second, trying to recall what had just been said. Trying out Mishka's vanishing trick... Any other time Roddy would have jumped on that. Now, all that came out was a soft, "Okay." Coyote: at 10:52 PM Huh. Mishka started to say something, then glanced at Nixie. She shook her head and made a quiet motion, holding a finger to her lips. Ah. Well. "So read this," Mishka said, pulled out his spellbook. "Well, actually, let me think. Are you good at learning from reading things? Or better at having them described? Or do you learn through-- y'know-- just doing them?" Muse: at 11:06 PM "Doing's better," Roddy said, still lacking a lot of the enthusiasm he usually spoke with. Needed his lute- he'd left it upstairs. Glanced off, up the stairs this time, where his room was. Bit of a walk. Roddy half wondered if he'd come back, left to his own devices. Coyote: at 11:13 PM "Huh. Well." Mishka took Roddy's hand. A little delicately, a little hesitantly, because he wasn't completely sure about the touching thing yet. Then he held Roddy's hand. "I'm going to disappear," he said. "When I do that, I envision the place I'm going. Then-- it's hard to explain. I sort of envision an empty space there. Like an empty space that needs to be filled. And you kind of... reach out and feel the fabric of reality. And you break it. Imagine yourself creating a hole, and then imagine your body instantly falling going through the hole. Here. Concentrate on me for a second. Can you feel my magic? Close your eyes and try to sense it." Muse: at 11:22 PM "Hang on," Roddy muttered. Was still slogging, not good for magic-learning. It wouldn't make it better, but- he liked magic. Just remember that excitement, let that fill some of the holes in Roddy's chest. Get to feeling a little more alert, at least. Right. Yeah. Roddy could try this. He squeezed Mishka's hand lightly, closing his eyes. Hummed a little tune, trying to find Mishka's magic. It took a few shifts to hit the right resonance- Roddy gave up on humming and started singing softly pretty quick. Nonsense sounds, but it hit the right notes. Without stopping he opened his eyes and flashed Mishka a thumbs up, he was ready. Coyote: at 11:32 PM Well, that was interesting. Bards and sorcerers were often self-taught, and as a result, they often had odd methods like this. Mishka had never seen one sense magic by humming at it before. Fascinating. Then again, Mishka had never seen the magical burn-out thing, before. Turtle Kid said it was the result of pushing himself too far-- casting magic when he had none left. Mishka didn't think people could cast magic when they were out. Turtle Kid was definitely a bit different, somehow. Fuckin' tortles. "I'm going to disappear," Mishka said. "Feel the way it feels when I go." And then he vanished. If someone was magically sensitive, they could sense the small hole in reality in left behind. Like stepping out of a pool. It left a momentary empty space-- and then the water rushed in to fill it. Muse: at 11:43 PM Huh that was different. Roddy kept up his sing/humming, squinting at where Mishka's just been. He'd been exposed to this before of course, Mishka loved that little trick, but Roddy'd never really looked before. (Well 'looking' maybe wasn't the right word but magic was weird sometimes.) How could Roddy mimic that affect on his own. Hm. He started pacing around, studying the once empty 'space' from different angles. Already the traces were gone- interesting. Coyote: at 11:47 PM Mishka popped back into the room loudly. Directly behind Roddy. Muse: at 11:48 PM Roddy jumped and yelped, whirling around. "Don't do that," he grumbled. Hey if he learned the spell- he could get Mishka back for all this. Roddy was going to learn this spell if it killed him. Coyote: at 11:55 PM Mishka snickered. Oh wait, he thought for a moment. Was this one of those things that could backfire on him later? He spent a moment considering it, then decided, nah. How could picking on Turtle Kid possibly backfire? "Anyway," Mishka said. "I'm going to take you with me this time. Hold on. I want you to feel the same way you did before, with the humming." He took Roddy's hands, and once he seemed ready, Mishka cracked them away. They reappeared outside in the snow. January 15, 2019 Muse: at 12:01 AM Roddy was concentrating good. Humming along, focusing, seeing how the magic wor-cold cold cold! "MISHKA!" he yelled, pulling his hand away to rub his arms. "Could have at least let me get a coat!" Coyote: at 12:02 AM "Oh, are you cold?" Mishka said. "Pop back inside, then." They were a good three hundred feet from the castle. Muse: at 12:05 AM Roddy squinted at him. What was with this teaching method anyway. Was this part of why Sugar was... like that? "You know I'm a bard right? Which means having an instrument is really helpful to this spellcasting thing. Which you did not let me get before cracking me off in the middle of the freaking snow." Coyote: at 12:09 AM Mishka chuckled. He probably oughta stop fucking around and teasing Turtle Kid. At least Turtle Kid was annoyed at him, now, though, and not just sadly moping. Annoyed was better than sad, right? Mishka snapped his fingers and brought them back inside. "Right, right. How foolish of me. Must've slipped my mind." Muse: at 12:12 AM Roddy grumbled vaguely under his breath. Mishka and his teleporting. Well just wait. Roddy'd learn that trick to and then there would be payback. "I'm going to get my lute," he said haughtily, and stalked up the stairs. He was back shortly, the Gekker held in one hand. "Are you gonna poof us out in the snow again?" he asked warily. Coyote: at 8:28 AM “Only if I feel like it.” Muse: at 8:30 AM "Do you feel like it?" Coyote: at 8:38 AM “Dunno,” Mishka said. “Haven’t looked too much into it yet.” Nixie was still sitting at the kitchen table, sipping her tea. She was reading a local new’s pamphlet from Skyport. “Mishka,” she scolded. “Don’t scold me, girl. I’m a hundred years older than you.” “Mishka,” Nixie said. She rolled up the newspaper and whapped him with it.(edited) Muse: at 9:20 AM "Maybe you should act like it," Roddy said, trying to look stern. He failed, a grin spreading over his face. Coyote: at 9:21 AM Mishka popped a piece of bread with honey in his mouth. “Nah,” he said. He kept smiling. “You gonna try it?” Muse: at 9:24 AM "The acting my age thing?- Oh you mean the spell." Roddy held his lute and started strumming, finding the resonance of the spell. Just over in the next room was good, he decided. Closed his eyes, visualized, and- -vanished from the room with a faint pop. Coyote: at 9:25 AM “Huh!” Mishka said. He continued eating Sugar’s toast. “Huh,” Sugar said, too, staring at the space where Roddy had been. Muse: at 9:27 AM Hey! He'd done it! Roddy charged back into the kitchen. "I got it!" he yelled. He started towards Mishka, intending on giving him a hug, but remembered a second later that Mishka didn't like that. Decided to give Sugar the hug instead. "Thank you!" Coyote: at 9:36 AM Sugar patted him on the back, trying not to feel disappointed. It was foolish of her. She just wanted to be good at everything, she supposed, and seeing Roddy get it so quickly made her feel... foolish, somehow. If it was that easy, why couldn’t she do it, too? Mishka leaned against the table. “That’s interesting. Sweetheart— don’t be sad you’re not getting it. Sometimes it just takes people a while to learn things. You’ve been learning a lot of other little spells recently. Give yourself a rest. Come back to this one later.” “I know, Mishka. I just—“ She let go of Roddy. She ought to be able to cast this spell. Roddy got it. Why couldn’t she? “Sweetheart. Give yourself a break. I command it,” Mishka said. “You can’t be good at every single thing. Sometimes certain things make intuitive sense to people, but... not others. There have been plenty of times you instantly learned things or figured them out.” Sugar sighed. Mishka patted Roddy on the shell. “That really is quite interesting. Good job, Turtle Kid.”(edited) Muse: at 3:22 PM Roddy half shrugged, watching Sugar. He hadn't realized she was- so bothered by not getting this. (Came out of his room for a minute and hurt someone. Can't even manage to be a friend. Should have stayed back where he couldn't make anything worse.) He wanted to comfort her too. Didn't know how. Roddy hugged himself and stared at the ground. He gave a little nod to acknowledge he'd heard Mishka, but otherwise was just quiet. Roddy wasn't talented with magic- he'd worked hard to even get it. He watched and learned, and had probably already picked up a good deal just because- Mishka liked to pop around so much. Sugar should have learned it first. It came easy to her. Should have just left Roddy in his room. Coyote: at 3:29 PM Oh. Now Roddy was sad again. Had she said something wrong? “I’m sorry,” Sugar said. “I didn’t mean— Roddy, you’re just as clever as I am. I mean, we aren’t clever the same way. But you can learn things fast, too. I wasn’t trying to be awful.” Maybe she ought to go tell Hansel. Hansel could always cheer Roddy up. Muse: at 3:33 PM "Your not awful," Roddy said. "I'm awful." Couldn't even sulk without making it worse. Coyote: at 3:35 PM “Roddy, you’re not awful. How are you awful?” Sugar said. Mishka edged out of the room behind Roddy’s back. Muse: at 3:38 PM Roddy shrugged. Lots of ways. Made Goro cry, and didn't do anything to make that better. Freaked out and yelled at Hansel for no good reason. Upset Sugar by figuring out this spell. Probably upset Mishka too somehow- Roddy'd been snippy for no good reason. Didn't have the words to say all of this to Sugar. "Just am," he muttered. Coyote: at 3:47 PM Sugar was quiet for a while. She thought about how she’d sold them out to Tricksy— how she’d felt worthless, afterwards. “Do you want to talk about it?” she said. “Even if you did something awful, Roddy, that doesn’t mean you’re awful.” People were more than just one thing. Muse: at 4:37 PM Roddy shrugged again. He wasn't sure he had the words. Sugar was trying- he ought to say something at least. "Hansel's mad at me," he said, finally. "Don't know how to fix it."(edited) Coyote: at 8:30 PM Mishka listened quietly outside the door, drumming his fingers. He stepped back inside and sat on the counter, trying to make his presence unobtrusive. Something was wrong here. Time to gather information. Nixie was doing fine on her own, thought. He'd leave it to her and start checking in if something started to go wrong. "What's Hansel mad about?" Nixie said.(edited) Muse: at 8:43 PM "Stuff." Be more specific, Roddy. "...I made Goro cry," he admitted reluctantly. "And then I yelled at him- at Hansel. For no good reason. And now he's not talking to me. And he read my journal and-" Roddy cut off and started hugging himself. He felt so- exposed. Knowing someone- even if it was Hansel (maybe especially if it was Hansel?)- read that. His thoughts on a page. Ugly and twisted and the worst parts of him. There was a reason he'd been trying to burn them. Roddy kept staring at the floor, looking ill. He just- wanted this to be over. Coyote: at 9:09 PM Nixie went dead silent, staring at Roddy. She pulled back a little. Roddy made Goro cry? Nixie hadn't really talked to Goro much since his return from Calimport. She missed him dearly, but-- they were both busy. And they clicked so easily it didn't seem like there was much reason to talk. They never had much conflict. She knew if she had a problem -- like she needed someone stabbed, she supposed -- she could go to Goro and ask for help. And she hoped if he had trouble, he'd come ask her. Maybe not, though. Because apparently Roddy had upset him so badly he'd cried, and Goro hadn't told anyone. Nixie couldn't manage to say anything. Her face flushed pink with anger, but she held her tongue. She'd assumed Goro had been mean to Roddy, or callous, or... something. She didn't expect to hear: I made Goro cry. "Roddy," she scolded.(edited) Muse: at 9:13 PM Roddy flinched. Now Sugar was mad too. "I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry," he babbled. Still staring at the ground. She- she was dating Goro wasn't she? Nice going Roddy- now you made his other partner mad too! Coyote: at 9:21 PM The tip of Sugar's tail lashed, snapping against the wood. She stood up abruptly, shoving her chair away. She left the kitchen. She knew she'd snap at Roddy if she stayed. Mishka glanced after her without saying anything. He slid off the counter. Muse: at 9:25 PM Roddy stayed put. Wouldn't do any good to follow her. Blinked a few times, trying to hold back tears. Now it was his turn to cry. Coyote: at 9:36 PM Mishka checked to see if anyone was around. No footsteps or sounds nearby, no one in sight. No one to see Turtle Kid crying. He rested his hand on Roddy's back. "Roddy... y'know... people aren't going to abandon you just because you fuck up once." Muse: at 9:41 PM Roddy started a little under Mishka's hand. He'd forgot Mishka was there. Rubbed at his eyes, scowling. Started to protest that he knew that but- it fizzled. "Circus did," he said quietly. Leaned into the touch a little- resisted the urge to just hug Mishka instead. Coyote: at 9:53 PM "Yeah, well, fuck the circus," Mishka said. "We're your family now." God, he hoped nobody heard that. He checked around again. Nope. Nobody around to hear Mishka having feelings. Muse: at 10:00 PM ...Roddy really really wanted to hug Mishka. But that might chase him off- he'd gone poof that one time Roddy'd just grabbed his arm. (Maybe he was out of poofs and he'd have to stick around...) No- Mishka didn't like hugs and Mishka was being nice, and Roddy could maybe manage to at least be nice to Mishka. "Thanks," he said, softly. "I don't- I don't really think that?" he said, wiping at his eyes again. Letting the tears come, this time. "That you're- you're gonna ditch me. I just. Hansel's mad at me and he won't- he's not talking to me- and I just- I just wish he'd get whatever-it-is over with and-" Roddy let out a choked sob. Coyote: at 10:02 PM Mishka patted him awkwardly, then rubbed his shell. He sat down in a chair. "Get what over with, kid?" Muse: at 10:07 PM "Being mad. Yelling at me. Disown- I don't know just, whatever it is he's gonna do about it. Hate this... waiting." Roddy folded his arms on the table and rested his chin on them. Coyote: at 10:11 PM "Roddy..." Mishka fidgeted, tapping his foot. He took the spinner out of his pocket and spun in on the table. Made him feel better. "Hansel's not gonna disown you," Mishka said. "He'll be mad or disappointed you did a shitty thing. That doesn't mean he's gonna hit you or scream at you or throw you out. And if he does do those things, then he's wrong, because he shouldn't do those things. That's not what people do when they love each other. Y'don't hurt people in your family. Y'don't hurt people in your crew." Muse: at 10:16 PM "...I made Goro cry," Roddy muttered. Mishka'd said Hansel'd be mad about that. And he'd have a right to- wasn't supposed to hurt your crew. Your family. Roddy was terrible at family. He hid his face in his arms. And the tears that were coming harder now. Coyote: at 10:19 PM "You certainly fuckin' did," Mishka said. "Don't do that." He scooted his chair a little closer to Roddy, wrapping an arm around his back. Mishka didn't say anything else; he just held Roddy, letting him cry himself out. That's what Asenka used to do. She'd pull Mishka onto her lap and shush him gently. She'd let him sob until he ran out of tears and he got quiet and still. Muse: at 10:28 PM Part of Roddy wanted to pull away. Go hide somewhere, cry on his own, where nobody could tell how bothered he was. The rest of Roddy was reminding himself this was Mishka, not freaking Amren, and that it was fine. So he leaned in a little and cried. Quietly, shoulders shaking. Eventually he ran out and sat there for a second, mentally collecting himself. Coyote: at 10:45 PM "What'd you say to him, anyway?" Mishka said once Roddy had settled down. "When was this?" Had Goro seemed-- upset any particular day? Any particular night? Fuck. Mishka had been avoiding him. Muse: at 10:48 PM "I don't know," Roddy said, turning his head so he could look at Mishka out of the corner of one eye. "Got- irritated. Said some stuff, and then he was crying. Was- the night after Asenka tried to kill me." Coyote: at 10:50 PM "Ah." That wasn't long after Goro had almost gotten killed, then run off. "Well... sometimes, y'know, people are vulnerable, and you gotta be a bit more gentle with them. Doesn't mean you did anything wrong, necessarily. Asenka almost killed Goro too. That was frightening for you, right? She did the same to him. Probably spooked him. You were both having a hard night."(edited) Muse: at 10:54 PM Goro'd nearly died too? Roddy hadn't known that... Well maybe if Roddy had better people skills he could have known to be on better behavior and maybe this whole mess wouldn't have happened. "Oh," he said. Coyote: at 11:00 PM That was about all the comfort Mishka had in him. He stood up. "I ought to get back to work. Roddy-- it'll be alright. Give yourself time to settle down. Give Hansel time to settle down, too." Muse: at 11:24 PM Roddy nodded a little. Mishka had good advice. Maybe he'd go back to his room and just- go back to waiting. Maybe (attempt to) take a nap- crying was tiring. "Mishka?" he called as he was headed away. "Thanks." Muse: at 11:38 PM END Title: Pops Summary: Sugar attempts to comfort a mopey Roddy, doesn't do well. Mishka distracts him by teaching him to teleport. Then more moping, and Mishka is successfully comforting. January 16, 2019 Category:Text Roleplay